


the superfamily

by sleeponrooftops



Series: raising webhead: a parenting guide, attempted by the science boyfriends [8]
Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-21
Updated: 2013-05-21
Packaged: 2017-12-12 13:33:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/812143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleeponrooftops/pseuds/sleeponrooftops
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the end, it’s not about saving the world or battling alcoholism and rage issues or even doing this stable relationship thing.  It’s about the love of a child.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the superfamily

_One week later._

_August, 2013_

“Sir, Director Fury has just entered the lobby,” Jarvis says, and Bruce looks up, going over to one of Tony’s monitors and flicking through until he gets to the lobby camera.

 

“Who is that with him?” Bruce asks, frowning at the woman following him into the lobby.  She’s dressed professionally, with handsome brown pants and a deep purple blouse, her heels tall and plain, her brown hair tied back in a ponytail, and she holds a folder in the crook of one arm.

 

It’s a moment before Jarvis responds, pulling up a screen with her photo and a file.  “Ms Alexandra Kelt, sir.  She is a social worker, though she is not in SHIELD’s database.”

 

“What the hell, Fury,” Bruce grumbles before closing her file and saying, “Call Tony, Jarvis—not over the intercom.”

 

“What shall I do with Director Fury, sir?”

 

“Send him and Ms Kelt up to the lab, though slow the elevator unnoticeably.  Don’t let them know I’m expecting them.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

Bruce waits impatiently while Tony’s phone rings until, finally, he picks up, “Hey, what’s up?”

 

“Fury brought a _social worker_ to the Tower.”

 

“Are you serious?” Tony snaps, “What is he trying to do?”

 

“I don’t know, but come home.  Don’t rush, just come home.  Jarvis is sending them up.”

 

“Where’s Peter?”

 

“Still napping.”

 

“It’s going to be okay.  I love you.”

 

“I know.  I love you, too.  I have to go,” he says before hanging up, and then the elevator doors are opening at the end of the hall.

 

“Sir, Director Fury and Ms Kelt approaching.”

 

“Thank you, Jarvis,” Bruce says before closing out the cameras except Peter’s room, glancing over that to make sure he’s still asleep, and then he stands, going over to open the lab’s door.  “Director,” Bruce says, holding open the door, “How can I help you?”

 

“Bruce,” Nick says, and Bruce holds his breath—Nick has never called him only by his first name.  Nick looks around for a moment before facing him and saying, “This is Alexandra Kelt.  Social services got wind of Peter’s recent change of homes, and they contacted SHIELD with quite a bit of anger.”

 

“You handled an underage child through your own systems, director,” Alexandra says, frowning, “All children, no matter what superpowers they might possess, are to go through the government’s system.”

 

“Yes, well,” Nick says, not looking at her, “Ms Kelt, this is Doctor Bruce Banner.  Shall you require my presence any further?”

 

“No, director, I think I can find my own way,” she says, and then Bruce understands.

 

Nick doesn’t want this to happen anymore than he does, and so he puts on a pleasant smile, holding out a hand.  “Ms Kelt,” he says, “I hope you’ll find everything is in order, then.  How might we move this along?”

 

“Well, is Peter here currently?” she asks, shaking hands with him.

 

“He’s down for his nap, he should be awake in about an hour.”

 

“That’s fine, then.  I’d like to interview you and your partner first and then see what I might in this—building.  Is your partner here?”

 

“He’s not.  He went out to do the shopping while Peter was sleeping.  He’ll be home shortly.”

 

“Why don’t we start with the latter, then?  I’m not your enemy, Doctor Banner, my interest lies only in Peter’s safety and well-being.”

 

“Of course, I understand,” Bruce says, looking over as Nick turns away, “Director.”

 

“Doctor,” Nick says, nodding before he leaves.

 

When he’s gone, Alexandra smiles and says, “Let’s begin.  I’d just like a tour of this building, if you wouldn’t mind.”

 

“No, not at all.  Did Director Fury give you any background on us?”

 

“Vaguely,” she says, opening her folder.

 

“Well, this is our lab.  Tony has multiple PhDs in physics and electrical engineering while I have a PhD in nuclear physics, so we do a lot of our research and development in here.  Peter just recently got his own section, over there, for his birthday.”

 

“When was his birthday?”

 

“Last week.  He turned four.”

 

“And what did you do for his birthday?” Alexandra asks, a pen poised over her folder.

 

“We went out to the zoo with his best friend and a handful of our friends, whom he calls his uncles and aunts.  There was an amusement park there, and a fireworks show that night, and then we went out for dinner afterward.”

  
“Sounds like a good birthday,” she says, smiling, “Now, how often does Peter spend time in here?”

 

“He’s usually in here with us during the daytime unless he asks to do something or go somewhere.  He usually just asks to come play in the lab, though.”

 

“And how safe is it?”

 

“Very.  There are separate floors, so he’s not allowed on the first floor when Tony’s working on the Iron Man suits.  Jarvis, our AI, was reprogrammed to watch him, kind of like another set of eyes beyond the two of us.”

  
“I’m sorry, your—AI?”

 

“An artificial intelligence.  It’s like a robot, but very advanced.  Tony built and programmed Jarvis himself.  Jarvis, illuminate the rest of the lab for Ms Kelt, please.”

 

“Yes, sir.  Good afternoon, Ms Kelt,” Jarvis says before the lights in the other levels come on, and Alexandra tips her head back, looking up through the glass floors.

 

“Impressive, Doctor Banner.  Shall we continue elsewhere?”

 

“Sure.  This way.”

 

Bruce leads her away, pausing outside the lab door to lock it, and Alexandra makes a noise before asking, “Does Peter have access to the lab without you or Mister Stark?”

 

“He does not.  We lock it when we’re not inside, though he does have prints to get in while we are inside.”

 

They head into the elevator, and Bruce starts to press the button for their living quarters when Alexandra says, “I noticed, on the way up, there were quite a few floors.  Are there any other floors Peter frequents beside the lab and your living quarters?”

 

“Yes,” Bruce says, hitting the basement button.  They go down, and he leads her into the basement levels, where he shows her the three workout floors, and then they go down into the garage where Tony’s been showing Peter the inside of one of his cars.  As they’re turning back toward the elevator, the rumble of an engine comes down the roofed ramp, curving out from the garage onto street level, and Bruce turns, looking toward its mouth.

 

“Good,” Alexandra says as Tony comes in, parking and getting out.

 

“Just a moment,” Bruce says, smiling before heading over as Tony pops the trunk.  “It wasn’t Nick’s idea,” is the first thing he says before Tony can even open his mouth.

 

“Are you sure?” Tony asks, taking bags from the trunk.

 

“I’m sure.  Best behavior, okay?”

 

“Bruce, I want Peter in our life just as much as you do, of course I’m going to be on my best behavior.  What have you been doing so far?”

 

“Showed her the lab and the basement.  We’re headed up to our floor now.”

 

“Okay.  C’mon,” he says, shutting the trunk.  They go back over, laden with bags, and Tony frees a hand to shake with Alexandra.  “Tony Stark,” he introduces, and she smiles.

 

“Alexandra Kelt.  Shall we?”

 

They’re nearly to their floor when Jarvis comes over the intercom, “Sir, Peter has awoken.”

 

“Thank you, Jarvis,” Bruce says, and then the elevator doors are chiming open.  Tony takes the bags into the kitchen, leaving them there because they’re not food, before he goes over to Alexandra while Bruce heads for Peter’s room.

 

“Would you like to see the rest of the floor?” Tony asks, and Alexandra nods.  “Uh, well—we have the living room and kitchen, obviously, and just down the hall are our room and Peter’s.”

 

“Quite a lot of space for only three people,” she says, looking around.

 

“Most of the floors are designed similarly.”

  
“Do others live in these floors?”

 

“Not yet, though the plan is to, eventually, have other superheroes move in.”

 

Alexandra nods, scribbling in her file before she looks up and smiles.  Bruce is coming forward with a yawning Peter, who’s clutching Ollie and rubbing one of his eyes.  “I’m thirsty,” he mumbles, leaning against Bruce.

 

“What do you want, little man?” Tony asks, already heading for the kitchen.

 

“Mm,” Peter says, yawning again, “Apple juice.  Can I have my Transformers cup?”

 

“Course,” Tony says, pausing by them to give Peter a kiss before he goes to get his drink.

 

“Who’s that?” Peter whispers as Bruce brings him over.

 

“Peter, this is Ms Kelt.  She just wants to talk to you for a little bit.”

 

“Hello, Ms Kelt,” Peter says, straightening and holding out a hand, “My name’s Peter Parker.”

 

“Hello, Peter,” Alexandra says, smiling and taking his little hand.  She turns her gaze to Bruce, “Might we speak in his room where he’s comfortable?”

 

“Yeah, sure.”

 

“I’m just going to ask that you and Mister Stark step outside so that I can speak with him privately.”

 

“Okay.  Is that alright, Peter?”

  
“What?  I wasn’t listening,” he says, hiding behind Ollie.

 

“Silly,” Bruce teases, tapping him on the nose, and Peter giggles softly, “Ms Kelt wants to talk to you alone in your room for a little bit, without me and dad, is that okay?”

 

“I guess so,” he mumbles, shrugging one shoulder, “Can I get down, then?”

 

“Yeah,” Bruce says, giving him a kiss before setting him down.

 

Tony hands him his Transformers cup, and Peter takes it, looking back at Alexandra.  “My room’s really cool,” he says before heading off, Alexandra following him.  Tony and Bruce watch him until he disappears, and then Bruce groans and sits on the sofa, smiling when Tony kisses him before going to put away the shopping.

 

Inside Peter’s room, Alexandra looks around as Peter tells her about different things, “This is my bed.  It’s green and red cos it’s for my daddies, and they gave me a hammock, too, because sometimes I like to sleep on the ceiling, but they said that wasn’t safe.  And I have a periodic table of elements!  It’s so cool, I love science.  This is my bookshelf where daddy gets all my bedtime stories from, and this is my bathroom, and this is my desk, and this is Ollie!” he finishes in an exclamation, holding up his elephant.

 

“It is very cool, indeed,” Alexandra says, sitting down on his bed.  Peter clambers up after her, crossing his legs and sipping at his cup.  “Do you mind if I ask you some questions, Peter?”

 

“I like questions.”

 

“Good.  How has your day been so far?”

 

“Awesome!” Peter exclaims, beaming, “It’s Thursday, so it’s picnic day, so my daddies took me to the playground to play with Johnny.  We go every week on picnic day, and we have lots of yummy foods, and that’s where I met Johnny and Auntie Sue and Uncle Reed, actually!”

 

“What kind of yummy food did you have today?”

 

“Well, I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because it’s my second favorite.  My first favorite sandwich is a grilled cheese, especially with tomatoes in it.  And I had some fruits, like, uhm—I had grapes and an apple and I tried kiwi today, and it was really good, and I had some carrots, but those are a vegetable, and I had some cucumbers, too!  I think I had some jello, the strawberry kind, but I don’t like foods in boxes, so my daddy makes it at home.”

 

“Why don’t you like food in boxes?”

 

“It’s icky.  My daddies let me try—uhm—Asian food?” he says, shrugging, “I think that’s what it’s called.  We have lots of spicy things and sushi and I really like that.  My daddies said that I don’t liked foods in boxes because it’s not fresh.  I don’t know, I just like other foods.”

 

“Fair enough.  Who usually lives in your house with you, Peter?”

 

“Well, there’s my daddies, and then there’s Ollie and Jarvis and Dum-E and Mark 42, but no one else lives here.  There are lots of people that visit, but it’s just us.”

 

“Who are Dum-E and Mark 42?”

 

“Dum-E’s my dad’s robot, and Mark 42 is one of the Iron Man suits, but he can walk on his own when my dad’s controlling him.”

 

“Okay.  And where do you sleep at night?”

 

“I sleep in my bed sometimes, but in my hammock sometimes, too, and, when I have a bad dream, I go into my daddies’ bed.”

 

“What time do you go to sleep?”

  
“My bedtime is eight o’clock, but my daddies start getting ready at seven o’clock cos I have to take a bath every night and brush my teeth and go potty and have a bedtime story before I go to sleep.”

 

“Do you ever feel scared, Peter?  Do you ever feel like you’re not safe here?”

 

“My daddies are _superheroes_!” he says, looking at Alexandra in shock, “Of course I’m safe.  They protect me, and Jarvis protects me, too, and anyway, I’m a big boy, so I can protect myself.  I only feel scared when I have bad dreams.”

 

“Do you have a lot of bad dreams?”

 

“No.  I only had one, but it was scary.”

 

“What was it about, Peter?”

 

“Well, I got stucked to the monkey bars the day I met Johnny, and I didn’t like that, but dad taught me how to calm down so I could get unstucked.”

 

“Okay,” Alexandra says uncertainly, frowning, “Do you have any hurts, Peter?”

 

“Uhm,” he says before looking around at himself, even lifting up his shirt, “No, I don’t think so.  Sometimes I get bruises at the playground cos I fall down, or sometimes I walk into walls on accident, but I haven’t in a little while.”

 

“Okay,” Alexandra says with a little laugh, “Do your daddies ever fight?”

 

“Sometimes they do in the lab when daddy says that dad is acting like a child, but they don’t _really_ fight.  They love each other very much, and they love me very much, and I love them very much.”

 

“That’s wonderful, Peter.  Do you ever get in trouble?”

  
“Sometimes, but not really.  Sometimes dad tells me to be careful, and then I’m not careful, and he gets a little upset, but he said it’s only because he’s afraid I’ll get hurt.  And sometimes Jarvis tells me not to touch things, but Jarvis says everything in the same voice, so I don’t think he’s ever mad at me.   And sometimes dad makes this face at me when I won’t go to bed or try not to take my bath.”  Peter makes an exasperated face, and Alexandra laughs.  “I don’t ever get yelled at, not like Mister Nick used to when I didn’t do what I was told, but I always do what I’m told, well most of the time, because I likes being here, so you can’t take me away.”

 

“I’m not going to take you away, Peter,” Alexandra sighs, “I have a few more questions, okay?”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Who cooks for you?”

 

“Usually it’s daddy at dinnertime and breakfast time, but sometimes dad cooks, too.  We never cook for lunch, though.  We always get—takeaway,” he says the word uncertainly.

 

“And which one is daddy?”

 

“Daddy is the scientist one.  He wears glasses like me, and sometimes he’s the Hulk.”

 

“And which one is dad?”

 

“Dad is the other scientist one, kind of.  He has a beard, and sometimes he’s Iron Man.”

 

“And which one of your daddies do you go to when you feel sad or scared or get hurt?”

 

“I don’t know,” Peter says, shrugging, “I love both of them the same, so I go to both of them.”

 

“Okay.  Well, Peter, it’s been very lovely talking to you.  I’m going to go talk to your daddies.  Do you want to stay in here?”

 

“They don’t like it when I’m alone unless I’m sleeping,” Peter says, putting his cup and Ollie down so he can slide off the bed before he takes his things back, “They said I might get hurted without them or stucked somewhere, so I stay with them when I’m awake.”

 

“That’s a good thing,” Alexandra says, opening the door for him.

 

Peter walks ahead of her back into the living room, where Tony’s on the sofa, working, blue-tinted screens in a curve around him.  Bruce is in the kitchen, talking aloud to Tony, though he stops at the sound of footsteps.  “Hey, little man,” he says, smiling as Peter jumps down the steps into the living room, “I made you a snack.”

 

“Good, I’m hungry!” he exclaims, going around the sofa and clambering up as Tony closes out his screens and pulls Peter toward him, tickling him.  Peter giggles, burrowing in against Tony until he stops.  “Can we watch a move tonight, dad?”

 

“What kind of movie?”

 

“A kid’s one, I don’t feel like watching a science one.”

 

“Okay, I can do that.”  Bruce comes over with a small plate of various cheeses, crackers, and pieces of grapefruit, and Peter makes grabby hands until Tony takes the plate and sets it on his lap.  Peter sits against him, leaning into his side while he plucks food off the plate.

 

“Well,” Alexandra says, coming around to face both of them, “I think I’m done here.  I’ll leave my report with Director Fury, but you can rest assured, Doctor Banner, Mister Stark.  It is incredibly clear to me that Peter has found a loving home in a safe, stable, and happy environment.  You two should be proud.  He’s an amazing little boy.”

 

“He really is,” Bruce says fondly, smiling down at Peter, who beams back up at him.  “Is that all?” he asks, turning back to Alexandra.

 

“Yes, I think that’s all.  I will be back to check up periodically for the first year, just to make sure everything is still going well, which I’m sure it will.  I can find my own way out.  Have a good day.  Goodbye, Peter.”

  
“Bye, bye!” he says, waving, and Bruce smiles, sitting on his other side.

**Author's Note:**

> WOW, THIS IS LONG. I totally did not intend for this to be this long, but I got so carried away looking up what kinds of questions social workers would ask, and I wanted to really get into Peter’s head about his answers, so. There you have it. I hope this was believable. I had to do some research before I wrote this, and I’m still not really sure on some things, but I tried. Also, I’m posting this today because I’ve had a really stressful two days, and I’m just exhausted from it, so don’t forget to leave your thoughts!


End file.
